1. Technical Field
The present application relates, in general, to devices, methods and systems for teaching the art of pitching in baseball and softball sports, and more particularly the disclosure relates to the technique of pitching using intelligent information provided as to pitch location that is based on pitch count of “balls and strikes”.
2. Description of Some Prior Art
Baseball and softball sports are played by pitching (throwing) a ball to a catcher while a batter attempts to hit the ball with a bat. An umpire is typically positioned behind a home plate and behind a catcher. The umpire observes the travel trajectory of the pitched ball relative to an imaginary “strike zone” the dimensions of which correspond to the width of a home plate (about seventeen inches across). However, the actual “strike zone” may vary, among other things, depending on the umpire's particular predilections and training. One important strategy for pitching in baseball or softball is to “paint” or “nibble” the edges of a strike zone in order to induce a batter to swig at a crucial pitch count such as a “3-2” count (three balls and two strikes as described in common baseball or softball parlance). Here for instance, the purpose of the pitcher is to get a batter to swing at a pitch that is barely outside the strike zone without giving up a “run” or a “hit”. Alternatively, the pitcher pitches the ball in such a manner as to put the ball in play so that it would not result in a run scored. Those skilled in the art recognize that a number of methods for teaching student pitchers the fine art of pitching to a batter to minimize the chances of a batter actually hitting the ball that would result in a run or a hit. There have been many U.S. Patents that purport to teach “target” practice for pitching a ball. However, most disclosures and teaching methods have a common limitation, viz, the lack of association of pitch-count with pitch location in a strike zone. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,326 discloses a portable target apparatus that includes a variable size aperture for a baseball pitcher and a net which comprises a catcher or a stop for the balls which are pitched through the selectively variable target area. The size of the target aperture area can be varied by horizontally and vertically movable straps which are mounted on the target frame structure.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,485 discloses a baseball pitching target comprising a rectangular peripheral tubular frame supported by support members staked to the ground. The apparatus has a mesh backstop with a representation of target indicia as the catcher's chest protector, shoulder pads and knee protector pads and mitt. Pitched balls are collected in a compartmentalized ball receiving bag except for those pitched balls that miss the strike zone. Those missing the strike zone will be projected back toward the pitcher by the action of the spring-mesh structure of the backstop.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,762,912 discloses a method and an apparatus that can be configured to receive pitches thrown into a specific designated area of the strike zone and to reject pitches not thrown to the specific designated area. The apparatus alters the position of the strike zone to compensate for the positioning of a catcher behind home plate. The apparatus more accurately identifies the strike zone, and areas outside the strike zone, to which a pitcher should practice throwing pitches.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,399,241 teaches a pitch training system for indicating whether a thrown baseball has passed through a strike zone that includes a zone assembly for detecting a baseball passing through the zone assembly. The zone assembly indicates when the baseball passes through a strike zone as determined by the zone assembly. A backstop is aligned with and positioned a distance from the zone assembly. The backstop intercepts the baseball thrown through the zone assembly.
Thus most of the prior art appears to be focused on improving the accuracy of pitching a ball to a pre-set target. However, as alluded to above, the additional problem of how best to induce a batter to swing at a pitch at any given pitch count, remains. The present disclosure addresses this issue and seeks to solve this problem. The present disclosure is based on the idea of associating pitch count information with a knowledge-based intelligent algorithm of pitch location and pitch selection within an average strike zone.